Strangely enough, the trailer caught me by surprise; because I hadn’t seen or heard too much about the film, except for the couple of freakish accidents that occurred during the shooting. I was fortunate to catch this one before the public premiere.  Ooh, and I have to add that the intro motion graphics were crazily cool like always.

Daniel Craig; the man with two first names is again the driving force behind the freshly rebooted franchise. Though a certain amount of doubt surrounds this film, I still think it couples very well with Casino Royale and does the series justice.

Unlike the other bond films, this functions as a tight sequel, picking up a few days later from Casino Royale. While it is a modern film, it still preserves the classic, suave roots of the Connery styled Bond.

As usual, the plot revolves around something that puts the world in jeopardy, this time being the world’s natural resources (Not that unbelievable in this day and age though…). I feel it was written with a few too many layers, and I did get a little lost with the villain’s intentions. Well, great. An excuse to watch it again!

It was beautiful; resonating the beauty of the European aesthetic which we were familiarised with the Bourne trilogy. As no surprise, out of all of the Bond films, it was the one that spent the longest time on location.

Again, Daniel’s new Bond seemed to be caught in the same direction of action as the Bourne trilogy - but I guess that is a good thing. In watching the filming documentaries; it’s revealed that most of the rooftop location shots were indeed completed without a stunt double. I’m glad they cast Gemma Arterton as the new Bond girl. There was a more intellectual relationship between the two, rather than the usual drink and date-rape formula. Mathieu Amalric was a great villian. His eyes had something about them, that were even creepier than Richard Kiel as Jaws in The Spy Who Loved Me.

There was a great action to story balance, so it was very entertaining to sit through. I really enjoyed this, and am going to have to absorb a 2nd & possibly 3rd helping of it asap.

Rating:

So Summer is rolling in (Winter for you up north), and that means more movies! It’s getting nearer to the Oscar buttcheek kissing period, so that’s a win for us in quality! Here’s my 5 that I am looking forward to sticking into and enjoying before the year is out:

#1 007 Quantum of Solace

Daniel Craig was amazing in Casino Royale. His revamp of the once suave English agent, to the gritty but more realistic Bond really sold it for me. Easily the best Bond, and bound to be full of exciting explosions, gunfights and fist fights!

#2 The Spirit

Frank Miller is the man. I love that directors use his panels to compose shots and make something that is more than a series of hookups. Each one of his films are a treat for the eyes. Oh, and Sammy Jackson is in it… take that as you will.

#3 Bolt

I know some people are complaining about it, but Walt Disney’s Bolt looks to be something worth watching for me at least! Doesn’t seem to be much going on animation wise in this last leg of the year, but it is a regular part of my viewing diet. They’ve supposedly tidied up the messy plot, so I guess it’ll be worth walking into with some expectations.

#4 Saw V

Saw is more of a giant puzzle than a film. I just love watching it for all of the clever traps rather than the wafer thin structure of the plot. It’s like watching those Japanese Rube Goldberg Machines.

#5 Eagle eye (just scraped through)

I’ll use this as a film to figure out if I like Shia LaBeouf or not. He cracked me up in Transformers, sucked in Indiana Jones and was great in Disturbia. Eagle Eye sounds like a revamped and mobile version of Colin Farrell’s poor performance in Phone Booth, but the action looks to sell it.

On a side note, I am really hanging on for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen 2009 (May 26). It’ll be one of those eye candy Mikey Bay bow-shit-up films but gosh, the first one was marvelous. But hey, NOT Highschool musical 3. Don’t see that ever. I’m pretty sure I stopped talking to people because they said they are looking forward to it.

With that aside though, it looks to be a good End Season for flicks! I’ll definitely be dragging my favourite person along to soak up some fine film!

What are your must-sees for your summer/winter?